Tag: manga

The Sound of Scents: Forget-Me-Not

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Hi all, finally some time for the updates in my life!

Firstly, I’m halfway through the “In Odd We Trust” sequel, called “Odd Is On Our Side”. It’s still going to be out just before Halloween in 2010, so there’s little point in talking about it now, when it’s not even Halloween 2009. I’ve also finished a series of short one-shots (in May) for a book called “Boy’s Book of Positive Quotations”, which is exactly as it says – a book of positive quotations. It’s not yet out on the shelves as far as I know, but I’ll post something up when it is.

Yen Plus Anthology: What’s really post-worthy is that I have a 33-page short story called “Forget-Me-Not” coming up in the July edition of Yen Plus, the manga anthology from Yen Press. It’s a story set in Mythical Ancient China, and concerns the adventures of a “Scent Merchant”. To find out what that is, read the story! It should be out in stores this month.

Here are the first 2 pages of the story, and some concept art of the “Scent Merchant” himself.

 

Forget-Me-Not - Page 1
 

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Forget-Me-Not - Page 2
 

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Scent Merchant
 

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Scent Merchant - Full
 

This story was finished way back in January, with the creative process having started in September 2008. I guess most people might have guessed by now – this means that the Yen Plus anthology is accepting short story submissions, of about 30 pages in length, and has been planning to for some time. Buy the July issue to find out more!

 

In Odd We Trust

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San Diego Comic-Con: I had a great time at the SDCC this year. It was wonderful finally meeting my agent Judy in person, as well as Dallas, Betsy and all the other fine folks at Del Rey manga. I also got a chance to say hi to Kurt and JuYoun of Yen Press, and pick up a copy of the highly-coveted anthology Yen+. Other than that, I hung out with Svetlana, Dee, Myung, Tacto and Hope (various Wirepop and ex-TOKYOPOP people), and made some good friends.

I also got a chance to have breakfast with Dean Koontz and the Del Rey people, and got to take some photos too. Since Dean was going to his panel at SDCC later on, we all got to ride in a stretch limo and hang out in backstage where the Simpsons/Futurama people were. Which makes it the perfect time to talk about In Odd We Trust, my manga collaboration with Dean which came out in June 2008, published by Del Rey.

 

Group photo with Dean Koontz

From left-to-right: Betsy (editor), Nancy (Dean’s agent), Dean, me, Dallas (publisher)

 

What is In Odd We Trust?
It’s a 180-page single-volume graphic novel, drawn by me and co-written with Dean Koontz. It is NOT an adaptation, but a prequel to Dean’s most-popular series, Odd Thomas. Six prose novels have been planned, with the fourth one, Odd Hours, having just gone on sale.

The story is about a humble psychic fry-cook by the name of Odd Thomas. He can see dead people, and takes a proactive approach by helping them into the afterlife, be it by catching their killers or just keeping them company. In Odd We Trust takes place when Odd is 19, and involves Odd trying to catch the killer of a little boy ghost. Being a single-volume manga, it’s much shorter than an average Odd Thomas novel, but is meant to be a good introduction to the world and the characters.

You can buy it online at Amazon.com, or just about any bookstore that sells Dean Koontz books.

 

In Odd We Trust

 

How is the book selling?
Thanks to the Del Rey team, quite well. When it first came out in the last week of June, it was the #1 graphic novel of the week. It also hit the Publishers Weekly comics bestseller list for the month of July, which means it’s been selling well at bookstores across the U.S.

It was the only OEL manga on the list, but people seem split on how to classify it. Borders categorises it as a manga, while Barnes and Noble lists it as a graphic novel. (It is also one of Del Rey’s best online-sellers, on Amazon.com.) Either way, thanks to consolidated lists, we now know it’s selling in the Top 10.

 

Is a movie being planned?
Interestingly, yes. I mentioned earlier in an interview with Publishers Weekly that I didn’t think Dean was interested in movies, but it turns out I was completely wrong. Dean is actually very interested in adaptations of his work, and all along, it was just a matter of finding the right agent/s to get these projects rolling. As of now, there is nothing promised, but it seems that an Odd Thomas movie is under discussion.

 

How did I get this job?
I was chosen by Dallas Middaugh, the publisher of Del Rey. I knew Dallas from email exchanges, and by the time he contacted me, Dean has already seen my work and liked it (I’m assuming he read The Dreaming, though I’m not sure). I was a fan of Dean Koontz when I was in high school, so it was a nostalgia trip to be sent the first two Odd Thomas novels, though I could see it was a very different kind of story to what he is known for. Anyway, I liked the books a lot, and it all went on from there.

 

Why do a manga?
The aim of the book was to introduce Dean Koontz to teens and young readers – hence why manga was chosen. “Odd Thomas” was unlike Dean’s other series, in that it’s less scary/graphic/gory, and is appropriate for a younger audience.

 

What was it like working with Dean?
Dean was surprisingly easy to work with, and the whole collaboration process went without a hitch. Having now met him in person, I can say that Dean is a really nice guy – personable and funny.

 

What am I doing next?
I’m open to another Odd Thomas graphic novel, but of course that’s all up to Dean and whether he wants to do another. Since the book’s been doing quite well, anything’s possible. In the meantime, I’ve given a story called Soul Shaper to my agent Judy to pitch, and it’s a departure from my published work so far, being an action-adventure-drama-romance story. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for this (please wish me luck). And as usual, there’s the usual side projects that I always have, and so on.

 

Reviews/Interviews:

Lucid Walking: The Dreaming Writing Competition Entries

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Folks, I’ll be attending GenCon in Brisbane from the 4th to 7th July. Enthusiasts, see you there!

 

In Odd We Trust: Is out in bookstores and Amazon, and has been since the 24th June. The book has gone back to print due to requests from Amazon, Borders and Barnes and Noble, so that’s probably a good sign (cue baffled reactions from Koontz fans who can’t grasp the idea of a “comic”). I also have a Publishers Weekly interview with Brigid of Mangablog in regards to the book. Thanks to Brigid and Publishers Weekly.

 

The Dreaming Writing Competition: TOKYOPOP finally announced the winners last Friday, and now I get the honour of posting all winning entries up for everyone to enjoy. I’m cross-posting the content of the TOKYOPOP announcement post, complete with comments and all.

 

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  • First Prize: The Sketch Album by Conda V. Douglas, Boise, Idaho
    Comments: I awarded this because it gave me the creeps—an admirable achievement considering I wrote the story that it’s based on! It’s a fantastic idea, and executed quite well. The other stories were also very good, but I had to give this one the top prize because of the ‘creep’ factor, which I think is crucial because The Dreaming is a horror story after all.
  • Second Prize: An End by by Chelsea M. Smith (18), Woodlands, Texas
    Comments: This was probably my favourite one in terms of writing style—I think it has the best writing out of all the entries (my personal opinion, and I’m biased). I also like the interpretation of Amber’s ‘state of being’ too. I only wish the reader was told the content of the paintings that Amber had in the suitcase—that is my only complaint (because I wanna know badly!)
  • Third Prize: Retrospect by by Xandria L. Johnson (14), Ocala, Florida
    Comments: I liked how this one took the perspective of Miss Anu—it does a pretty good job of exploring her as a character. I loved the way the story ended. It also mentioned some things about the art I never noticed myself, despite having drawn the book!

 

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And here are some of the wonderful honourable mentions:

 

  • The Coffin by Elizabeth Napoletano (26), Cicero, Illinois
  • Records Keeper by Allegra Condiotte
  • The Cost of Living by Sarah Lamb (28), Houston, Texas
  • Walking in the Dreaming by Jasel Cantu (26), Lincoln, Nebraska

 

Thank you to everyone who entered this writing competition. Your entries were all so very fantastic, and I hope you all continue writing. It’s certainly inspired me to attempt writing prose again.

If anyone else has an entry they’d like to be posted up here, please post your email address in the comments, and I’ll contact you to get a digital copy of your story. I think we’ll all love to read the stories – I for one am darn curious about the stories that didn’t quite make “the cut”.

All 6 finalists, please post your email address (again) in the comments, or email me to organise the prizes. I’d like your mailing addresses for sending the prizes to. I’ll be giving out copies of the new “In Odd We Trust” book, and original art from “In Odd We Trust” for the top 3 winners (unless you don’t want art from that, please let me know).

 

Lucid Walking: Comics for Telepaths

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First Review for In Odd We Trust: Coming out on the 24th of June (at least on Amazon.com), this book just got its first review. It’s in the Icv2 glossy magazine (so not online), and it’s a great 4-star review.

I quote: “The pairing of Dean Koontz with Australian manga-style artist Queenie Chan was a match made in graphic novel heaven. Together, they tell a great story in a genre halfway between Psyche and Nancy Drew, with marvelous dialogue.” I’ll be posting my long-awaited post on “In Odd We Trust” once I run it by Del Ray’s publicity agent David, so please keep an eye out for that. Here’s also an interview with me about the book on Jazma Online, done by Allen Klingelhoets.

 
 

Comics for Telepaths: And onto what else I’ve been doing for the past year. I’ve just recently wrapped up a long-running comic work, a fantastical techno-space opera which ran bi-weekly for the past year in Telepathy Tales telezine. For those unaware of this story on the telestream, I posted the first page of it up here.

 

Sci-Fi Comics for Telepaths

 

The uninitiated may be wondering why this story involves both thoughts and images, when it’s generally believed that telepathy involves only thought-transference. Well, that was Telepathy 1.0 – this story was broadcast on Telepathy 2.0. If you’re a telepath and you’re still on Telepathy 1.0, you probably already know where to get the upgrade.

Many thanks to editor Henrietta Max, and for The Daily Telepath for giving it a 4-star review. Thanks also to Melandril Moose and Telepathy Tales for giving this story a permanent home in the Vorpal Tex. For those interested in the adventures of Mr. Alabaster Curly and Luci Dworkin, I just told you where you can read all the back issues of the story.

In terms of influences, this story was inspired by Michael E. Blake’s “Science Fiction for Telepaths” (1977), a story whose entire text consisted of: Well, you know what I mean. An extremely long and complex piece of science-ficton this was, yet ironically, it’s often referred to as one of the shortest science-fiction stories in existence (according to everything2.com anyway). Hey, it took me a whole day to get through it, you know.

 
 

TOKYOPOP and “The Dreaming” Writing Competition: Everything that can be said about TOKYOPOP’s situation has already been said, and my heart goes out to those who lost their jobs in the corporate reshuffle. I wish you all the best of luck for the future. As for “The Dreaming” writing competition, I apologise for the delays – the winners were suppose to be announced at the BEA, but since TOKYOPOP’s restructuring got announced instead, there is obviously some confusion. I emailed TOKYOPOP and Marco Pavia of marketing replied, saying that they’re planning to announce the winners soon, so thanks for all your patience. Hey, if all else fails, I’ll just post up the 6 finalists and the winners on this blog. Once again, I apologise to everyone who entered the competition for this. Your entries were wonderful and a joy to read, and I hope this can be sorted out ASAP.